What's Worth Fighting For
by sodapopritalin
Summary: Everything lately is new to Olivia James. New town, new school, new life dynamic. Everything is changing so quickly, and Olivia's used to handing it on her own. That is until a certain brown eyed boy ends up on her doorstep, and shows her the importance of friends, or rather, a pack.
1. Chapter 1

**This was a random idea that I came up with and started to write. Currently writing chapter 2, that is, if you wanna see it! Leave some comments and tell me if you do!**

I always pictured California with bright sunny beaches, palm trees, and skaters in muscle shirts and board shorts. Beacon Hills was about the farthest destination from my imagination. I could see the treeline of the woods from my new bedroom window, the sun barely a speck through the heavy banks of clouds. Half expecting a shimmering Edward Cullen to stroll out of the trees, glittering like a fairy, I continued to stare out the window, and contemplate where my life had led me now.

Being the daughter of a military man, I was used to moving a lot. I knew better than to let any place feel truly like home, it would just hurt that much worse when we up rooted and moved again. That all changed when we got _the knock_. The knock on the door that no military family wants to receive. Dad was gone, and our little family was in tatters. Suddenly, all I wished for was a place to call home, friends, family, anything to hold onto. Mom took the job as a surgeon at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, and once again, we picked up, maybe this time for the last time.

Our new house was big, at least compared to what we were used to on base. It felt so much bigger standing there alone, something I'd gotten used to lately. Ever since dad's death, mom basically drowned herself in work, taking on as many shifts as she could, only coming home to shower and lie down. Neither of us had gotten very good at sleeping again. Heading downstairs, I stopped at the kitchen, seeing an open box on the table. Our wind chime sat on top, one we picked out for dad his last father's day. We'd just moved into the house, finally one with a decent backyard, and dad loved the sound of it, clearing his mind of the sounds of whatever he'd come home from. Taking it out on the porch, I tried to catch the hook on a nail, but was failing miserably. Standing on tiptoe I stretched as far as my legs would allow, but still no luck. Huffing, I looked for something to stand on when I heard it.

"Need some help?" The metal poles clanged noisily as I hugged them tightly to me, trying to remember how to breathe, glancing quickly at the stranger standing on my steps. His big brown eyes stood out starkly from his pale skin, moles dotting his cheeks. Dark brown hair was hidden underneath his black baseball cap. Carrying a sack of what looked like groceries, mystery man eyed the decoration, squinting a bit in the sunlight.

"It's too high." I pouted, sounding like a toddler instead of a teenager, smiling shyly as he stepped up, settling the grocery bag down, taking the chimes from me. His fingers were a little rough, he seemed the athletic type, almost a full foot taller than me. Reaching up, he hooked them easily, and it wasn't long before the breeze had them clinking, flooding me with memories.

"Thank you, uh..."

"Sorry. I'm Stiles Stilinski." Stiles must have caught my questioning gaze, adding, "it's a nickname. My first name is kinda...difficult. Anyways, my dad's the sheriff, we live right over there-" he pointed to the house a little further down the road, a blue Jeep parked in the driveway, "and he, well, _we_ , saw you guys move in yesterday, and figured you'd need some groceries." Small town at its finest.

"I'm Olivia James. And thanks. We've been so busy unpacking, food hasn't even come up yet."

" _ **We**_? Sorry, I just-" his cheeks flushed as he stammered, and I found it adorable.

"My mom's the new surgeon. She's been spending a lot of time at the hospital." A lot of time ignoring life, but who was I to judge? I reached down to take the bag, but Stiles beat me to it. Grinning cautiously, I let him follow me back inside and into the kitchen.

"You can just put it on the table if you want." Sitting the bag down next to the box I pulled the chimes from, Stiles picked up a picture frame. I could tell just by the cherry wood which photo it was. His last Christmas home, our last family portrait.

"What's your dad do?" Keep it together, Olivia. Don't become a sobbing mess in front of the boy. A tear must have escaped, before I knew it his thumb had caught it, though I didn't remember him being so close.

"He was in the Army. He was killed in Afghanistan about six weeks ago." My voice quivered, Stiles hanging his head in front of me.

"Olivia I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"It's alright, Stiles. There's no way you could've known." Scratching at the back of his neck, I could almost see the wheels turning in his brain, trying to figure out a way to steer us out of awkwardville.

"You should come hang out with us. My friends and I."

"I don't wanna intrude."

"But you won't! You'll fit in great!" I wasn't convinced, but I nodded anyways, God, Stiles was infectious. Clapping his hands on my shoulders, a huge smile on his face.

"Great. Now, let's get this stuff put away, huh?"

 **xxx**

Riding with Stiles to the mall that Saturday, my heart was in my throat. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a couple of weeks before school started back, so I guess it was good I was making friends before I ended up being alienated at yet another new school.

Entering from the food court entrance, I was confused when he jumped in line for pretzels.

"What? A man's gotta eat, Olivia!" Rolling my eyes, he at least offered to buy me a soda, looking around the area, nodding at a table full of teenagers. Gulping internally, I followed him, scanning the table, knowing they were doing the same to me.

"Guys, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is Scott, Kira, Liam, Malia, and Derek." Derek looked like he was going to kill me, Malia looked like she would be willing to help. I noticed Kira scoot subconsciously closer to Scott, who shot me that friendly boy next door smile. Liam looked like a little puppy, Lydia scanning me like I was a project, not a human. _Well then._

Scott cleared a spot on his left, Stiles slipping in beside him, and I took the end of the table, opposite Derek, next to Lydia.

"Stiles has been telling us a lot about you." Lydia piped up, and I couldn't hide the blush running up my face. I felt a little self conscious sitting with these girls, dressed in just jeans and tee shirt, all of them looking like freaking runway models. Even the guys looked like they stepped out of a magazine.

"Oh yeah? He's told me some about you guys too." Just the very basic, index card notes. Malia was Stiles' most recent ex, which might explain the toxic stare. Derek was the daddy of the group, Liam the baby. Stiles, Lydia, and Scott had been friends since the first of forever, and I felt like I had intruded at a family reunion.

"You should come shopping with us. I saw some sandals in Topshop I know you'll look amazing in."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Remember, Lyds. We're supposed to go see a movie this afternoon. I'm not paying for an extra seat for all your bags." Huffing, Lydia stood, Malia and Kira following suit.

"Oh hush, Scotty. We'll see you later." My eyes locked with Stiles, his little smirk giving me a weird sense of security. Scott clapped him on the back, and he turned away, I had a notion to follow him until Kira put her arm around my shoulders, the two of us trailing behind Lydia and Malia.


	2. Chapter 2

**I got 2 followers on this story! THANK YOU! Leave some comments if you wanna see chapter 3!**

* * *

"Hey there, stranger."

"You just saw me last night, remember? Movie night?"

"Still can't believe you haven't seen Star Wars."

"Still haven't."

"Scott's DVD player broke. Minor set back. We'll just watch it at my place."

"Tonight?"

"Lydia's party is tonight."

"So?"

"Are you _nervous_ , Olivia?" he challenged, glancing over to see me playing with the hem of my tank top.

"No." I lied, and he knew it.

" _ **Sure**_. Why are you nervous?"

"New people." I mumbled, feeling silly, even though it was the truth. Stopping at the red light, Stiles shifted to look at me, raising an eyebrow.

" _I_ was new, and you talked to me. And Lydia, and Liam. Hell, you even got **Derek** talking." That too was true. Just as he had predicted, I fit in pretty well with his group of friends, _the pack_ is what the referred to themselves as. Well, for the most part. I understood Derek's defensiveness, I could be the same way. It took him longer than his younger friends to let me in, but even he came around. _**Malia**_ was a different monster entirely. I think I could count on my fingers the amount of words she's said to me in the past four weeks. Picturing her icy stare sent chills down my spine.

"You cold? Saw you shiver." Stiles noticed, fiddling with the AC vents, trying to re direct the air away from my bare skin.

"Nah. Just thinking."

" _Relax_ , huh?" Reaching over, he stopped my anxious fiddling, taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.

 **xxx**

If the daunting feeling of starting your senior year in a brand new school in a brand new town wasn't enough to make me sick with nerves, add on the fact I'd be meeting most of my new classmates at a back to school party at Lydia's lake house. Liam was the first one I spotted, big blue eyes scanning the room, his own nerves reeking off him.

"Hey Dunbar!" I giggled as he spotted me too, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a big bear hug before promptly letting go, shooting Stiles an apologetic look. Liam had become like a surrogate little brother to me, especially since I didn't pick on him as much as the others. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lydia talking with Scott, neither of them looking like they were having much fun. Liam and Stiles tensed beside me, and that sneaky suspicion I wasn't in the loop began creeping up on me.

"Me and Liam will go and see what's wrong with those two. Why don't you grab a soda and mingle around? We'll catch up with you in a bit." Nodding, I felt like a child again, eavesdropping on my parents talking about dad getting deployed again, only for him to usher me into the next room, asking me to draw him a picture, or go play outside. I shouldn't have felt so hurt about being kept out of whatever was going on, it wasn't as if I'd known them for very long, but still, my heart stung just a bit.

Stiles tugged Liam away, and I looked into a crowd of unfamiliar faces. I had seen a couple of them on the streets, polite waves, quiet hellos, or nodding in my direction when talking to Stiles or the others. One of those was a guy leaning on the kitchen counter, he had a summer job at the grocery store. I soon learned his name was Danny, and he played goalie on the lacrosse team. He told me a couple stories about Stiles and Scott when they were younger, and I almost spit my soda out, hearing about Stiles asking if gay guys found him attractive. Of course, I had to ask, and Danny said though he did agree, he knew Stiles was just horny, not gay.

I'd been talking with Danny so long, I barely realized I hadn't seen any of the group, and was starting to get more than a little curious. He'd drifted away to flirt with some guy I think I'd seen before, shooting me a little wink of goodbye before following him into the herd of people. I grabbed a plate, intending on getting some snacks when someone reached out across me. Looking up, I sighed heavily.

"Of course _you're_ here."

"Glad to see you too, Malia." she just rolled her huge brown eyes, her bushy hair parted down the middle, framing her sneering face.

"Guess we had to have pity on the new kid. Scott must like taking in runts."

"What's **that** supposed to mean?" I challenged, glaring back at her. I was an inch shorter than Lydia, but she was able to pull off the heels and wedges I just wasn't willing to stumble around in.

"You don't belong here. Not in this _town_ , not in this _house_ , not in this _pack_."

"Well, unfortunately for you, you don't get to decide that." I replied cooly, taking my plate and walking away. I felt the eyes on us, hear the not so quiet whispers.

"Don't you know it's rude to walk away while people are talking to you?" she charged, grabbing me by the arm, spinning me back towards her.

"I bet you're just looking for attention. _Look at me, I'm the new girl. Mommy's always at work, daddy isn't around. Feel sorry for me._ " she fake pouted, my blood boiling. Make fun of me all you want, but my _parents_ , my **father,** was off limits.

"I'm not you." Obviously without a comeback, Malia's hand collided with my cheek, her nails scraping across my skin. She stomped off in a huff, pushing past the crowd now attempting to check on me.

 _xxx_

I had to get away. I didn't need people I just met seeing makeup threatening to run down my cheeks as I cried. I didn't want to give Malia that satisfaction. I didn't want the rest of the pack to see the pain. Finding a dock, I slipped my sandals off as I sat down, the water skimming the bottoms of my bare feet. I wondered if the others even knew what had taken place downstairs, no longer caring what they were supposed to be convening about in the first place.

Someone was coming, but I didn't bother looking back, almost hoping it was just some random drunk couple looking for a place to hook up. Their footsteps kept getting closer, behind me soon enough, stopping suddenly, breathing heavily. Finally looking back, I smiled sadly up at Liam's reddened face.

"Why are you out of breath?" He rolled his eyes in response, sitting beside me, knees up by his chest.

"I was coming downstairs when I saw you talking to Malia. It all happened so fast, I couldn't get to you in time. By the time I got to where you were, you were already out the door. I didn't want you out here by yourself." Looking out on the water, I leaned my head on his shoulder, Liam resting his cheek against the top of my head.

"She hates me, Dunbar. I didn't do anything to her, and she treats me like I'm beneath her."

"I'm not sure Malia likes anyone, really."

" _Stiles_." I said quietly, feeling him sigh beside me. We sat quietly for a few minutes, listening to the water lap against the shore, him placing his arm around my shoulder, his steady heartbeat calming me down. The longer we sat, the less I wanted to go back in there and face everyone. Liam agreed to take me home, stopping by 7-11 and getting Slurpees.

"You're a great little bro, you know that?"

"Gotta look out for my big sis. Sure you're gonna be alright?" He was younger, but he was taller, my head under his chin as I hugged him goodnight, assuring him I would be. All I needed was a shower, and to forget this night even happened.

Standing under the stream of hot water, my mind was swirling. What was I gonna do now? What if they back Malia instead of me? Why? At least I had Liam. One friend was better than none. The water ran cold before I could get all my thoughts in order, and I changed into one of dad's old Army shirts and a pair of running shorts. I checked my phone, finding texts from everyone. Lydia apologizing, Kira asking if I was alright, Scott promising to deal with Malia, whatever that was supposed to mean. The last one was from Stiles, sent just a minute or two earlier.

 **[Stiles] you awake?**

 _[me] yeah_

 **[Stiles] be there in 5**

 _[me] you don't have to_

 **[Stiles] just wait for me please?**

Tossing my phone back on the mattress, I knew there was no use arguing with a determined Stiles. He was at the door before I was downstairs, knocking impatiently. I hadn't even opened it fully before he was stumbling through it, swallowing me in a bear hug, mumbling into my hair.

"I couldn't find you, and then I heard everyone talking about what happened. I was gonna go look for you but they said Liam went after you, and then Liam texted Scott, saying he took you home."

"You could have just called me, Stiles." I replied with a little giggle, hopping up on the dining room table.

"And you would have lied to me, and said you were fine. I had to see for myself, and you're not fine. Your eyes are still red."

"She told me I was just with you guys for the attention, called me a runt, said I didn't belong. Look, Stiles, if it's gonna be a problem, I can just-"

 **"No."** he spat out. Biting my lip to fight back a fresh round of tears, Stiles moved to stand in front of me, taking my hands in his own.

"Malia doesn't do well with change. Like, at all. When she moved here a couple of years ago, she was leery of all of us. Even when we started dating, she still didn't fully trust me. Its why we couldn't work out. We'd just gotten into a halfway decent place when Liam joined our group, and she started in on him."

"So she just hates me because I'm _new_?"

"And because out of all the people in the group, you're closest to me. She may have been the one that ended our relationship, but Malia still gets jealous."

"Maybe-" I tried reasoning, Stiles tightening his grip on my fingers, brown eyes locked on my eyes.

"I don't want you to go anywhere, Olivia." he sounded almost desperate, a tone I'd never heard from him.

"I've lost too many people already. I don't wanna lose you too." It was my turn to tug him into a hug, resting our heads on each other's shoulders.

"Not going anywhere, Stiles." I whispered, rocking him a bit. I yawned quietly, and he pulled away, a soft smile on his lips.

"I should let you get some sleep."

"Can you- I mean, would you wanna stay with me tonight? Mom's working the overnight shift, and I'm not exactly wanting to be alone tonight." Stiles nodded, heading home to grab a bag, and leave a note for his dad who would be home late himself.

Making sure my room wasn't a complete mess, I turned on the TV, lowering the volume. I'd just finished pulling back the sheets when I heard Stiles coming back, this time in plaid pajama pants and a thin gray tee shirt.

He laid down first, letting me snuggle next to him, my head on his chest while we watched _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. It was getting hard to keep my eyes open, but I was fighting hard, enjoying and memorizing this feeling.

"Go to sleep, Liv." he muttered quietly, his free hand grazing the arm I'd slung over his torso. Drifting off, new thoughts were floating through my mind. What exactly had Stiles been through to make him act like that? What exactly was going on with us now? He shifted, tightening his grip on me, and I cuddled closer.

"Goodnight, Liv." There was the nickname again. Thanks to Stiles, I'm pretty sure I fell asleep smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Friday study sessions were _pack traditions_ , at least that's what Lydia told me that morning at school. I invited everyone over to my house, not really knowing what to expect. I hadn't really seen much of Malia since Lydia's party, and I wondered if it had something to do with Scott's " _handling_ " of the situation. There wasn't much time to really miss her, not with the mountain of school work, and the rest of the pack buzzing around. Liam and Stiles had taken it upon themselves to be my bodyguards of sort, though Stiles also seemed intent on fending Liam off as well. There was no denying something was different between the me and the pack, and me and Stiles. Whatever it was, we were taking it slowly, and I was glad for that.

For being a pack that was usually all together, we never seemed to arrive together. Liam had ridden his bike, and rode home with me. Stiles arrived not long after, still muttering something about me riding my bike with the " _little bastard_ ", and not riding home with him under his breath. I slung my arm around his middle, shutting him up pretty effectively. Scott parked his bike on the curb, arriving with Kira, the two of them giggling about some inside joke. It surprised me when Lydia's sedan pulled in the drive, Malia getting out of the passenger seat. I could feel the stares, darting between Malia and myself, but I just held the door open, letting them all inside, taking a deep breath as I let it shut behind me.

A few minutes was all it took for my living room to be covered in school supplies. The smell of textbooks and pen ink hung in the air. We were sprawled throughout the room, trying to stay focused on the work in front of us, even though no one wanted to do it. Scott and Kira were huddled together on the loveseat, going over their notes for AP Bio. We were all proud of him for stepping up and taking the harder class, but he needed help taking on the harder coursework. Malia sat on the floor with her back leaning against their seat, turned away from the rest of us. I just wondered what aggravated her more, me, or her math homework. Liam had control of the coffee table, the sophmore having more homework than all of us. Lydia sat in the chair behind him, scrolling through something on her laptop. College applications, probably, though any university would take her in with no problem. That left Stiles and I on the couch. Better yet, that left Stiles stretched out on my couch, feet hanging off one arm as he acted like he was reading his chapter for English, leaving me half the last cushion, my Government book balanced on the other arm. His hair ticked my leg, and I could see his chocolate eyes glancing up at me from time to time, but I tried to ignore him. I was far from good at flirting, but add in all our friends in the same room, including your ex who slapped me a week ago, no thank you.

Liam shut his binder with a loud thud, breaking the silence, lying his head down on top of his books, puppy eyes in full effect.

"I think my head is going to explode." he whined, mimicing the pouty look I gave him. Someone else wanted my attention though, Stiles scooting up to lie his head in my lap, looking up at me.

"You hungry? I'm hungry."

"Big surprise there." I teased, playing with his hair. Jeez, it was soft. I didn't think much about it until I heard his hum of appreciation, and Malia's pencil no longer tapping against her journal.

"But I **am** hungry. Lemme see what we got in the kitchen." He didn't seem too happy about me moving so quickly, but let me up anyways. Turning on the radio, I raided our pantry, finding ingredients to make enough spaghetti for all of us, and save some for mom. The others began mingling around, groaning as their muscles resisted moving after so long. Lydia set to clearing the kitchen table of all our backpacks.

"Why do you have dog tags on your backpack? An old flame back home enlisted?" I suddenly felt deflated, the air being pushed out of me. I hadn't intentionally told them about my dad. I couldn't really tell myself sometimes.

"Family." I replied quietly, gripping the countertop in front of me so hard my knuckles were turning white.

"Your dad?" Kira figured, and I nodded, hoping the conversation would move on to something else. I knew it wouldn't, but I could hope.

"Where's he delpoyed?" Scott asked, and I wanted to answer him, but all I could do was gasp for air. My lungs felt like lead, my throat closing up. The room was fuzzy, spinning around at breakneck speed.

"Liv, look at me." Stiles was next to me in a flash, or was he there the whole time? Prying my fingers off the laminate, he held my hands in his own, trying to get me to focus on him.

"Dad." I sputtered out, memories flooding my brain. _I could smell his uniform, hear him laughing, teasing me about the bow in my hair. He was leaving again, little did we know for the last time. I felt his lips on the top of my head, reminding me not to be any trouble for mom._

"Olivia, come on. Stay with me. You gotta breathe, okay?" Stiles' voice floated back, his face coming back into view, but the memories wouldn't stop. _He called right before Halloween, laughing at me wanting to dress up as Clara Oswald to my best friend's Doctor Eleven. He met a girl that reminded him of me, making sure I was doing my homework._

"Follow my lead, okay?" Stiles called, taking one deep breath and then letting it out. One big inhale, one big exhale. "Alright. Again. Come on. You can do this, Liv." I shook my head fiercly, my hair falling out of it's ponytail. I couldn't.

"Dad. Dad's gone." _That knock. It was getting dark, and I was setting the table. Mom started crying as soon as she saw the chaplain on the porch. She ran upstairs as soon as they left, the neighbors knocking on the door next, one pulling me into a bone crushing hug. It was a part of Army life, losing a soldier. But it wasn't supposed to be a part of our lives._

" **Olivia**." he called, cupping my face with his hands, wiping away tears with his thumbs. Seconds felt like days until I felt like I could breathe again, the world coming back to me. His eyes held a note of sheer panic in them, relief washing over them like a tidal wave when I stared back at him.

"You did it." Stiles whispered, caught off guard when I launched into him, burying my face in his neck. He said nothing, only moving to sit more comfortably, pulling me into his lap.

"Want me to tell them?" I nodded, unable to form words correctly, especially those.

"Her dad was killed in Afghanistan about two months ago." The silence that overtook the room was deafening, the radio seemingly playing for an empty theatre, not a house filled with seven teenagers. I hadn't even noticed the rest of the pack sitting on the floor, close by, but giving us space. Stiles gave me a sad little smile as he pushed away strands of hair from my tear stained cheeks, resting his cheek on my head.

"You alright, Olivia?" Liam asked, the closest to us, big blue eyes full of worry.

"Yeah. Just gonna go outside and get some air for a second."

Walking out the back door, I sat on the porch steps, wrapping my arms around my knees. The more people I told, the more it sunk in. Dad wasn't deployed. There wasn't going to be any more phone calls, or letters, or homecoming parties. He was going to miss my senior year. He was going to miss me going to college. Dad was going to miss the rest of my life, and I was going to miss him the rest of mine. I heard the chimes clinking from the front yard, imagining their sound as his way of saying he missed me too.

The back door opened, and I figured it was one of the boys. No guy was ever good with a girl crying. Surprised isn't even a good enough word to describe what I felt to see Malia sit next to me, staring out into the yard.

"I'm not very good at this, but I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

"Malia, you don't-" She shook her head, brown waves curtaining her face from me.

"I **do**. I've been so bitchy to you since you first arrived. You created change in my life, chaos. Everyone accepted you so quickly, even  Stiles, who doesn't trust anyone, and I had a hard time with that. I didn't even think, not for a second, that you could have your own issues. I didn't think about how hard it must have been to lose your dad like that, pick up and move across the country, and start over." Malia turned to face me, and for the first time, I saw compassion instead of hatred.

"Do you think, maybe, we could start over?"

"I'd really like that." I nudged her leg with mine, leaning against her. Neither of us were ready for a hug, but it was nice to not want to slap each other again. We sat out there in the silence for a little while before she helped me up, both of us heading back inside. Stiles cocked an eyebrow at us, smiling when I smiled back. I was suddenly in the middle of a pack cuddle, everyone murmuring their apologies, and if they could do anything to make me feel better. They had no literal idea that just being there right then was all that I needed, a place I finally felt like I belonged.

 **xxx**

Just like they arrived, the pack left in pieces not long after dinner. Liam left first, followed by Scott, needing to get ready for work. Lydia took the girls with her, Malia and I sharing a little smirk. Stiles seemed content on taking his sweet time packing his things away, not that I really minded.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the evening?" he asked, joining me in the kitchen, watching me scoop some of the leftover spaghetti into a container.

"Gonna take mom some dinner. I need to get out of the house for a bit."

" _Take?_ Like **now**?" his voice raised a few octaves, and I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"Yeah. I'll ride my bike, won't take but a couple of minutes." Stiles shook his head, patting his pockets.

"We'll take the Jeep. You shouldn't be out in the dark like that." He seemed way more concerned than the usual ' _you shouldn't be out in the dark_ ' concern.

"You don't have to take me Stiles. I'm just gonna drop it off and come back. She's probably busy anyways." He turned to face me, taking my hand.

"I just wanna make sure you're safe." I leaned into him, throwing my arms around his middle.

"Always with you, Stiles."


End file.
